The recent furor in the F9/11 threads has left me wondering... How does one talk films?
It seems that some people are of the opinion that to talk about film is to talk about the craft, i.e., the direction, the cinematography, the acting, the writing, and so on. Indeed, from time to time, one sees such extraordinary, visionary, or innovative filmmaking that the focus of a discussion has to be on the craft but this seems to me rare... Even, let's say with Kubrick, I'm fascinated more by the issues his movies present than the (certainly superb) quality of the production. For me, there are actually only a handful of movies that would really stir me to write about direction, cinematography, and acting because, in many movies, if these things are done well, then it fades into the background... and instead the content and the issues raised by the film come to the foreground; the movie, in effect, becomes a treatise on certain themes, ideas or issues. And, it is these that I am really interested in discussing...
However, in the case of F9/11 and the Passion of the Christ, some people here at Filmwurld clearly felt that discussing the issues raised by the film or related to it were not actually fair game for the threads designed to discuss the film. I find this peculiar...
When I read a book, I generally don't spend much time talking about the author's craft, except maybe as preliminary stuff or for the purposes of an essay. Instead, I want to discuss the points made by the book and the myriad of inter-texts or discursive fields that are related to it. I find the same is true for movies.
Am I the only one? Am I at the wrong forum? Thoughts anyone?
I also don't find it necessary for people to have seen the same movies I've seen in order to talk about them. I assume that most people, especially here at Filmwurld, have sufficient intelligence to understand the narrative as presented by someone else and then to draw upon their own film going experiences to make their comments on the issues. For example, when I talk about a movie with someone, I'll tell them what it is about and then give them my views on some of the issues. Those issues are often such that other movies (or books, etc.) become relevant and so they in turn will do the same for me. Before you know it, a complex discussion evolves in which I do not believe that anyone is any worse for wear by not having seen all the movies that are mentioned in any given discussion. Again, is this just me? Thoughts anyone?
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